It has been eight days since the body of a woman was found buried in an Osprey backyard, and there is still no positive identification.

"The body was badly decomposed," Sarasota County Sheriff's Lt. Chuck Lesaltato said. "That is why it is taking so long to get a positive ID."

The body is believed to be that of Lauri Beth Moore, 48, of 153 Pennsylvania Ave., Osprey. Moore was reported missing by her sister, Candice Rule, Oct. 25.

Rule hung up on a Venice Gondolier Sun reporter when he called after the body was found.

Grim work

The state of the body is the first factoid to emerge in the case since the body was discovered Nov. 9.

The degree of decomposition indicates the woman was probably dead for some time before the body was discovered. But at this point, Lesaltato said, it is impossible to even speculate how long the woman had been dead, or what killed her.

"We just don't know, it's in the ME's (medical examiner) hands now," Lesaltato said. "Our guys are anxious to know, too."

Choose one

While it may seem obvious that foul play is involved because someone buried the body, there are a couple of other options regarding her demise.

Police said the woman could have died of natural causes -- or an overdose because she had a drug history. In either case, someone who knew her could have gotten panicky and buried her.

Or, somebody could have killed and buried her.

If someone discovered the already deceased woman and then buried her, they could be guilty of a crime (failing to tell authorities about a dead person, illegally burying a body) but not necessarily homicide.

According to court records, Moore has a police history.

She has had nine contacts with the law since 1955. Several of them were drug-related.

You can e-mail Tommy McIntyre at: This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it .

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